Stopping in front of his home, Zhou Jun took a deep breath, and then slammed the door panel hard.
The servant of the concierge opened the door and saw Zhou Jun. He first rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and then shouted at the top of his voice: "The young man is back!"
In a moment, the whole house became lively.
Zhou Dinghai, who was writing in the study, was the first to rush out, walked quickly to Zhou Jun, looked the latter up and down, and then laughed and said: "Darker, stronger, good!
This is what my son should look like!"
Immediately afterwards, Zhou Jun's mother Luo Sanniang also rushed over.
The moment she saw Zhou Jun, Luo Sanniang couldn't stop her tears from flowing down. She just said: "In the barbaric land of Mobei, the weather is cold and the ground is freezing. Jun'er suffers from lack of food and clothing."
Zhou Dinghai said unhappily when he heard this: "How can a man with high ambitions settle down in comfort? It's a good thing to go out and see something."
Luo Sanniang first grabbed Zhou Jun and inspected him carefully. Seeing the cold gangrene and lacerations on his body, she shed even more tears. She also heard Zhou Dinghai's words and couldn't help but cry and curse: "You're such a bastard."
! Don’t you hear that the battlefield is dangerous and the sword has no eyes! If my young man has a shortcoming, it will be too late to regret!"
When Zhou Dinghai saw Luo Sanniang getting angry, he just shook his head and sighed: "A woman who indulges herself will eventually miss her future."
After saying that, Zhou Dinghai turned around and left the vestibule and went to the study.
Zhou Jun first tried to persuade Luo Sanniang with kind words, which stopped Luo Sanniang from crying.
Then, he looked to the left and right and asked, "Where is Brother Brother?"
Luo Sanniang was stunned, glanced in the direction Zhou Dinghai was leaving, and then pulled Zhou Jun towards the central hall. As she walked, she said, "Jun'er, come with me. I have something to ask you."
Zhou Jun handed his luggage to his servant, followed Luo Sanniang, and came to the middle hall confused.
As soon as she sat down, Luo Sanniang asked Zhou Jun directly: "Do you know about the relationship between Ze'er and the prostitute Yu Junniang?"
Zhou Jun hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.
Luo Sanniang said angrily: "Since you know this, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Zhou Jun: "Brother prepared for the autumn palace last year. If I told you, I would be afraid of causing resentment and ruining the matter."
After hearing this, Luo Sanniang thought about it carefully and felt that Zhou Jun's words were reasonable, so she didn't complain any more.
Zhou Jun asked: "Could it be that something happened during the Qiu Wei Test?"
Luo Sanniang shook her head and said: "Zer'er is famous in the Guilin List, but he won the imperial examination."
Zhou Jun heard this and said happily: "Brother has won the election? This is a great happy event. Why is my mother worried?"
Luo Sanniang sighed: "After Ze'er passed the imperial examination, he went home and told me and you, Aye, that he wanted to get a wife. We were overjoyed when he won the imperial examination, but we also heard that Ze'er wanted to get a wife, so we even
It's a pleasure. But unexpectedly, Ze'er wants to marry a prostitute from the market."
When Zhou Jun heard this, he could probably guess what happened next.
Sure enough, Luo Sanniang continued: "You, Aye, are very angry. You bluntly say that Ze'er has ruined the family tradition and is not a son of a man. Ze'er is also stupid. He bluntly says that if he marries a wife, no other woman will do it except Yu Junniang."
"In anger, you, Aye, took a stick and beat Zeer."
"Ze'er was beaten and ran away from home. It has been a month now, but there is no news from him."
After listening to Luo Sanniang's words, Zhou Jun also had a headache.
He knew that his eldest brother Zhou Ze wanted to marry Yu Junniang, and it would be difficult for his parents to get through this.
However, what Zhou Jun did not expect was that the conflict between the two parties broke out so suddenly and ended with Zhou Ze running away from home.
After a few words of comfort to Luo Sanniang, Zhou Jun told her that he would look for Zhou Ze and persuade him to come back.
After talking to his mother, Zhou Jun looked out the window and saw that it was still early, so he said, "Everyone has a few days off, and I plan to go back to Bachuan."
Luo Sanniang said in confusion: "Leave now?"
Zhou Jun: "Leave now."
Luo Sanniang: "It's better to have some food and sleep overnight. It won't be too late to go."
Zhou Jun shook his head and said: "This trip to the north was entrusted by my employer. Now that I have returned to Chang'an, I should report it as soon as possible."
Seeing that Luo Sanniang couldn't persuade him, she just agreed with Zhou Jun.
The latter went to the study to have a conversation with Zhou Dinghai, then went back to the wing to change his clothes, and finally took the horse from the concierge and hurried all the way towards Bachuan.
On the other side, Yongningfang, Xiao Mansion.
It is the end of March and the beginning of April, and white frost can still be seen in the corners of the courtyard, but green grass branches and vines and roses are also quietly appearing.
In the sky, under the eaves, birds are chirping and their shadows are fluttering. If you look carefully, you can see that they are early warblers vying for warmth in the trees and new swallows pecking at the spring mud.
Two young women, one in blue and one in crimson, were singing opera in the courtyard.
Just listen to the woman in green singing: "The jade face is locked deep in the embroidered curtain. No one is born from the west or the east. No one can share it. There are thousands of separations and hatreds, and thousands of idle sorrows."
The woman in red originally wanted to sing along, but she ended up laughing. Seeing the woman in green's worried expression, she explained: "My sister plays the role of Cui Yingying. She sings really well, but I really can't play this role."
The woman in green clothes put down the songbook in her hand and was about to speak when she heard the maid's voice coming from the corridor: "First lady, second lady, the master is looking for you."
The two girls heard the words, responded, and walked towards the nave together.
After entering the hall, I saw a middle-aged man and woman sitting in front of each other.
The middle-aged man is Xiao Chen, the head of the Ministry of War, and the woman is his wife Xiao Zheng.
The woman in green and the woman in red bowed to their parents and said their best wishes.
Xiao Zheng said to the woman in green: "Qingchan, on the Lantern Festival day, you also met Pei Wulang. Did you like him?"
Hearing this, Xiao Qingchan stopped talking and hesitated.
When the woman in red saw this, she said bluntly: "My dear, Pei Wulang was widowed just a few years ago, and he is similar in age to Aye. If I ask my sister to marry her, wouldn't I be pushing her into a pit of fire?"
Xiao Chen heard this and said angrily: "Xiao Yingluo!"
Xiao Yingluo quickly lowered her head. Although she no longer dared to contradict him, she still whispered resentment in her mouth.
Seeing this, Mrs. Xiao Zheng looked at her husband and said in embarrassment: "Pei Wulang is indeed a little older. How about the Pei family... slow down first?"
Xiao Chen looked at Xiao Qingchan, saw a look of sadness on her face, and sighed: "Take it easy for now."
After telling the two daughters of the Xiao family to leave first, Xiao Zheng whispered to Xiao Chen: "Alang still remembers the person who spoke yesterday."
Xiao Chen was stunned: "Who is it?"
Xiao Zhengshi: "The history of that week when Alang and his concubine were talking to each other yesterday when they returned home from the banquet."
Xiao Zheng nodded and said: "Yes, yes, that's him. Alang said yesterday that Zhou Ling Shi protected the army and sent an envoy to Huihe, but he made great achievements."
Xiao Chen looked at his wife and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Xiao Zhengshi: "Zhou Hengcai came here before and only said that he wanted to marry Qingchan. I saw that he was of low status at the time, so I just thought it was gossip and didn't take it to heart."
"Now that he has made great achievements, he may not be able to get ahead in the future. And Qingchan has also passed the Double Tenth Festival. It is not an option to drag on the marriage like this. How about..."
Xiao Chen's expression darkened, and he said in a cold voice: "Why not?"
When Mrs. Xiao Zheng saw her husband's awe, she couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart, and she didn't dare to say any more.
Xiao Chen couldn't bear it when he saw the fear on his wife's face. His face softened a little and he said, "Zhou Heng came to ask for marriage back then. If I had promised him Qingchan, and now he has made great achievements, it would be a good story."
"But the Xiao family has already rejected his request, and now they are asking for a daughter in marriage. When outsiders see it, they will only say that the Xiao family avoids the cold and suffers from inflammation, like ants suffering from mutton."
After pausing for a moment, Xiao Chen said in a deep voice: "Besides, the Zhou family are slaves, lowly in status, and philistine. How can they welcome the daughter of the Xiao family? Let's stop this matter. Don't mention it again."